California

A crew helps with turf removal and replacement at a Pacific Palisades home. The oversight of a Metropolitan Water District rebate program that was designed to help homeowners reduce their outdoor water use was “less than satisfactory,” according to an audit.

A crew helps with turf removal and replacement at a Pacific Palisades home. The oversight of a Metropolitan Water District rebate program that was designed to help homeowners reduce their outdoor water use was “less than satisfactory,” according to an audit. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

The Metropolitan Water District’s massive $450-million turf rebate program — which helped thousands of Southern Californians rip out their lawns in favor of drought-tolerant landscaping — was plagued by poor planning and oversight by the agency, a new audit found. The rebate program was a key element...

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses has canceled its annual horse show, Equestfest, because of an outbreak of equine herpes virus. The show was scheduled for Dec. 30 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank. But the center was quarantined last month after vets found 13 cases of the virus, EHV-1,...

A Superior Court judge ruled Friday that the stepfather of 2-year-old Jahi Turner, who disappeared more than 14 years ago, should stand trial for murder. After a weeklong hearing, Judge Charles Rogers said that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to hold Tieray Jones for a trial. Attorneys...

Authorities say a construction worker was crushed to death at a landfill in San Juan Capistrano. Capt. Daryll Milliot with the Orange County Fire Authority says the man, in his mid- to late 30s, was killed about 3 p.m. Friday at Prima Deshecha Landfill on La Pata Avenue. The worker was between...

Two ex-Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who have been convicted of obstructing an FBI civil rights investigation into the county jails told a federal jury on Friday that they believed they were following orders from former Sheriff Lee Baca. The witnesses said they were directed to guard an...

A fire ripped through a warehouse in Oakland on Dec. 2, killing 36 people who were there for an electronic music concert. Here are the names of those who have been confirmed dead by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Coroner’s Bureau or immediate family members. Did you know one of the victims...

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A San Jose State University student has been arrested following a series of six sexual batteries reported on the campus since Oct. 17, according to authorities. The student, Huaien "David" Kong, 19, was taken into custody on suspicion of attacking a female victim at 4:25 p.m. Monday in the campus’...

The Los Angeles City Council on Friday awarded trash-hauling contracts worth $3.5 billion as part of a new citywide waste collection program expected to raise costs for some customers. Seven companies and their subcontractors were chosen by the city to exclusively collect trash for roughly 65,000...

Investigators have ruled out a faulty refrigerator as the cause of a fire that killed 36 people in an Oakland warehouse last week. Earlier in the week, officials had said the refrigerator and other appliances were being examined as possible causes of the fire. But Jill Snyder, an ATF official,...

The chief of the Fresno Police Department announced Friday that while his officers’ use of deadly force was within policy in the fatal shooting of an unarmed teen this summer, “inappropriate tactics” were used before a fourth shot was fired. Dylan Noble had already been shot three times by Officer...

When it comes to immigration, there’s plenty of rhetoric, none of which is very illuminating. And then there are stories. I once met a volunteer who was directing traffic outside the school her children attended near Koreatown. We later talked at her cramped apartment about how she hustled to scratch...

A former Lake Forest youth pastor convicted of the sexual battery of four adult female church members was sentenced to two years in state prison Friday, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. Sean Patrick Aday, 39 — who worked as a youth pastor at Grace Community Church in Lake...

HBO’s “Silicon Valley” actor T.J. Miller was arrested early Friday on suspicion of battery on a car service driver in the Hollywood Hills, police said. The car company driver reported the attack about 1 a.m. in the 6900 block of Camrose Drive, said Officer Jenny Houser, a spokeswoman for the Los...

The room for rent last summer inside the converted warehouse at 1919 Market St. in West Oakland had all the magic of an artists colony that Sam Code wanted. Code, who sang and played guitar in bands, was drawn to the three floors of lofts connected by a network of ladders, hidden nooks and crannies,...

A homeless woman was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping a 4-year-old girl from a Trader Joe’s in Santa Rosa. The incident occurred Thursday at the Trader Joe’s at the Santa Rosa Market Place, according to a press release from the Santa Rosa Police Department. Police allege that Tina Szczepanek,...

California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris has doubled down on prosecuting three men behind the classified ad website Backpage.com, releasing a trove of company emails to support pimping charges after a Sacramento County judge said he was inclined to reject the case outright. Judge Michael Bowman had...

California

After emerging from the snare of crack addiction and more than a decade in prison, Brian Sawyers claimed to be a new man. His arc of redemption went like this: On the edge of Watts, he opened a burger shack named for a friend, B.D. Burgers. He gave free meals to those down on their luck and ran...

Charter school founder Steve Barr has abandoned his bid to unseat Eric Garcetti, helping the mayor’s campaign as he seeks a second and final term. Barr, of Silver Lake, announced in a Facebook post Wednesday night that he was no longer running, saying he and others are still “reeling” from the...

For decades, some Malibu property owners have made it hard for the public to reach public beaches. On Thursday, the California Coastal Commission fined two of those property owners more than $5.1 million for denying surfers, sand castle builders, kite flyers, sun bathers, yoga enthusiasts and other...

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders built a fiercely loyal California following during the election, regularly selling out events and packing his rallies with devoted supporters, some of whom trekked to other states on his behalf. But when the former Democratic presidential candidate’s hopes for the nomination were...

Police in Montebello are searching for a man who wore a clown mask when he robbed a woman at knifepoint, and authorities on Thursday released video of the crime in an effort to identify the suspect. The robbery took place on Oct. 29 in a parking garage in the 1600 block of Neil Armstrong Street,...

Chico police say a 22-year-old man cut off part of his finger while allegedly trying to break into a parked car. The San Francisco Chronicle says Angel Orozco-Vargas of Oroville arrived at a hospital Wednesday morning missing part of a pinky finger. The hospital says it contacted Chico police after...

Most Californians give high marks to their public universities and colleges but worry they are too expensive, according to a statewide survey released Thursday. The majority of Californians surveyed by the Public Policy Institute of California support more money for public higher education, but...

Pomona College’s Board of Trustees has named G. Gabrielle Starr as the school’s next president, the first time a woman and African American has been appointed to lead the Claremont liberal arts institution. Starr, who currently is the dean of New York University’s College of Arts and Science, will...

More than a dozen people were left homeless in Riverside after firefighters say a woman accidentally dropped a lighted cigarette onto her oxygen tank, sparking a raging fire at a senior citizen apartment complex. Two people, including the woman who dropped the cigarette, were treated at a hospital...

The water policy measure overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday to build long-term water infrastructure across the Golden State is headed for a showdown with outgoing Sen. Barbara Boxer, who plans to mount a filibuster in the Senate on Friday as one of her final acts...

On Monday, three days after 36 people died in a fire at an Oakland warehouse, city building code inspectors sprang into action. They descended on five other warehouses that authorities suspect are housing people illegally. Some of the properties, like the one gutted during a Friday night concert,...

It’s a tried and true technique of prosecutors to go after low-level criminals and turn them against their bosses. In federal court Thursday, a onetime Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy convicted of obstruction of justice and conspiracy took the witness stand in the case against his former top...

The FBI has launched an investigation involving allegations that Compton’s deputy treasurer stole money from the city, authorities said Thursday. Salvador Galvan, 47, was taken into custody Wednesday in connection with embezzlement allegations, according to Sgt. Danny Martinez of the Los Angeles...

A naked man scaled a Metro bus on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood on Thursday afternoon and stood there until deputies managed to rustle up a ladder to remove him. The man, who was not immediately identified, was naked and walking down Sunset Boulevard before he climbed onto the orange Metro...

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a $619-billion defense authorization bill Thursday that includes direct help for thousands of California National Guard soldiers and veterans facing repayment demands for long-ago enlistment bonuses. The bill sets strict limits on the government’s ability to recoup...

All 36 victims of Friday’s Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland have been identified, officials announced Thursday. Authorities, who concluded their search for bodies the day before, used DNA analysis to ID the last set of remains, according to Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County...

A powerful magnitude 6.5 earthquake rocked the Northern California coast Thursday morning. The quake occurred under the Pacific Ocean about 100 miles west of Ferndale, near the Oregon border, about 6:50 a.m., the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no reports of injuries or damage. The quake’s...

With the search for victims of the Oakland warehouse fire complete, investigators are looking at several key questions: What caused the fire that killed 36 people during an unpermitted concert? Is there criminal liability? Did the city do an adequate job of inspecting the building, which had been...

The man police say was stabbed by the head of the California chapter of the Ku Klux Klan over the weekend contends he was attacked because of an argument over an Anaheim Klan rally that resulted in several stabbings earlier this year. In an interview with The Times, Richard Dillon said he was attacked...

Success in life often results from being lucky and having the ability to capitalize. When a door opens unexpectedly, you need to walk in quickly and impress. The latest prime example of luck and competence is Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), named by Gov. Jerry Brown last week to replace Sen.-elect...

A section of Hollywood Boulevard is closed to traffic for the next few days — but spaceships are OK. As part of a grand premier of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” Saturday at the Pantages Theatre, an X-Wing fighter is now parked on the boulevard. It’s been a big hit on social media: https://twitter.com/Starwars_films/status/806716949145223168...

Since Donald Trump was elected president in November, cities with large Latino populations have debated how to respond. Many activists have urged these communities to do everything they can to protect people in this country illegally, even though such efforts might jeopardize some federal funding...

Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer won’t have an opponent on the March 7 municipal ballot, leaving him all but guaranteed a victory in his bid for a second and final term. No one stepped forward to run against Feuer, who was first elected to the post in 2013. In a statement, Feuer said he is “honored...

Philip L. Browning, the director of Los Angeles County’s child protective services agency and a veteran of county government, announced Wednesday that he is retiring early next year, capping a career in which he brought stability to a department plagued by high leadership turnover. Browning, 70,...

After months of review, haggling and soul searching, Los Angeles Board of Education members this week avoided voting on a strategic plan developed by Supt. Michelle King. She’ll go ahead with it anyway. The plan’s centerpiece is a target of 100% graduation, which has never been achieved by a large school...